Richard Packer Independent Henry Sewell Independent The Town of Christchurch by-election in 1860 was triggered by the resignation of Richard Packer as the Member of the House of Representatives for the Town of Christchurch electorate, and occurred during the term of the 2nd New Zealand Parliament.

The Lyttelton Times wrote several provocative editorials, generally endorsing Sewell for his obvious ability, but criticising him for not publicly talking about his policies and plans.

After a lengthy address, which was favourably received by the Lyttelton Times, a second contender for the office put his name forward at that meeting: the publican Michael Hart.

[6] Michael Hart arrived in Lyttelton with his wife and their two sons on the Cressy on 27 December 1850, one of the First Four Ships reaching Canterbury.

[11] In December 1852, Hart catered for 150 guests who had assembled to farewell John Robert Godley, the founder of Canterbury who returned to England after his short stay in the colony.

[14] In an editorial, the Lyttelton Times[15] welcomed Sewell's intention of representing the electorate again, but criticised him for the briefness of his statement.

The newspaper's expectation was that Sewell should publicly state what his policies were, and not just rely on his past representation in Parliament.

The editorial urged Sewell to address the issue of improved education when he again represented Christchurch in Parliament.

The editorial defended the newspaper's critical stance: "We disclaim all hostile feelings against Mr. Sewell ... we have not decided to thwart but to understand him.

Many attendees were not electors, as franchise was attached to land ownership in excess of £50, or yearly rental over £10,[21] and the resulting roll was only about 160 names long, including absentee owners in England.

Sewell spoke at length about various issues: that he should be elected because of the service that he had given Canterbury as their representative when in financial crisis, that he even delayed his departure to England to resolve the issues, that he had no conflict of interest with the steam ship company that provided New Zealand's postal service with England, that he did not have land holdings in the North Island more valuable than holdings in Canterbury, that he gave qualified support to the Lyttelton Rail Tunnel project and he gave his reasons for leaving the Stafford Ministry so soon after his return to the colony last year.

Whilst Hart could not say that he received his qualifications from Oxford or Cambridge, he had obtained his "knowledge from the university of common sense".

[14] The returning officer, John Hall, after no other candidate came forward, asked for a show of hands and declared it to be in favour of Sewell, upon which Hart demanded a poll.

[14] At the time, voting was done by the elector telling the election official his choice of candidate (the secret ballot was introduced in 1871[21]) and as a tally was being kept by interested parties, the result was immediately known.